"I really didn't want to do it," he added. But Ciancaglini insisted, 'You gotta or you gotta move.'"

Then, mob underboss Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino wanted a $15,000 loan to open a mob sports book. Casolara soon realized the loan would never be repaid.

"As soon as I started that day, I knew this day would come," said Casolara. "I told John I was not going to jail for those guys."

Ciancaglini and then-consigliere Steven Mazzone told Casolara to manage Ciancaglini's book and to pay the bettors' winnings from the books of Ciancaglini, Mazzone, George Borgesi and Martin "Marty" Angelina, all defendants on trial with Merlino.